Evelyn's POV
As dawn's first light crept into the dusty council chambers, I sat quietly, my heart racing at the hushed whispers of the council. A prophecy loomed over our pack—there is a True Luna, a girl marked with a flame at the back of her neck. The weight of that revelation pressed against my chest as my fingers brushed the nape of my neck, where a mark lay hidden, one my mother had forbidden me to see. Until now.
My long, uncut brown hair had always been a curtain, a barrier, a secret keeper. She insisted I wear it down or braided, but I never considered it might be an attempt to shield me from the prophecy. That changed two weeks ago during my first combat training when I fell, and my opponent caught sight of the mark. Panic had struck, leaking into every council meeting that followed, where I was relegated to a corner, invisible. Something felt different about this meeting. I could see fear in my mothers eyes as the Elders spoke.
My twelfth birthday arrived today and with it a tingling flickered across the skin of my neck. It hummed with latent energy, as though something buried within me yearned for release. I gazed out the window, my thoughts drifting to the old chapel beyond the ridge, where Kai and Kane typically loitered, ready to torment me before I can get to practical training. While Kai usually stayed in the background, Kane thrived on chaos, all too eager to ruin my day.
Suddenly, a thunderous proclamation broke me from my thoughts, forcing me to focus on the council's discussion. They wanted to crown me Luna—not for my readiness, but for the lure of prophecies igniting their egos. My mother's mask of calm crumbled, revealing a seething anger beneath. "Why would you even consider crowning a twelve-year-old?" she shouted, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "Your heads are buried so deep in your arrogance, you can't see this is madness!"
Elder Morric countered her fury, cold and impassive. "This decision lies with the council and the current Alpha. What he decrees is final."
I felt the world tilt. I am NOT ready for this. I am NOT meant to be their Luna.
The meeting ended, and my mother's frantic energy shifted as we raced home. She dialed family members outside the pack, seeking refuge from the storm brewing around me. She is on the phone with my grandmother Mille. Waking painful memories of my father, she is human like my father. We haven't spoken in the three years my father has been gone. He passed away from cancer. Unfortunately, not even the healer could save him from that. and the darkness of his passing choked me anew. I heard my mother's apologies for thesilence she has received from us blended with gratitude for the sanctuary she sought in Seacrest.
My mother begins gathering essential items rapidly and without a clear system, placing them into suitcases in a hasty and unstructured manner.
But then chaos erupted. The haunting howls of wolves cut through the air, shrill and ominous. Children crying and screaming running out of the forest away from the pack boarder. I watched as my mother's expression went blank, shadows of fear dawning in her eyes. "Rogues are attacking at the border," she gasped. "They know. They know about the prophecy. You need to hide—I must go help the children! Go to your hiding spot and wait until I return. I love you Eevee" And with that, she rushed out.
I fled to the basement, seeking solace in a hidden room beneath the stairs, a space my father had made for me long ago. I pressed the wall, and the door creaked open; inside, I curled up and pulled the rope to seal myself from the world. Yet, the weight of screams and howls bore down on me, the look on my mother's face before she left, ripping at my sanity. This was all because of me. Hot tears streamed down my face, the burden of my birthmark feeling like a brand upon my soul.
Breath became a struggle; the air thickened around me, urging me to flee. I pushed the door open, listening intently. Silence hung heavily in the air. Rising, I stepped out and made my way to the living room, my heart racing as I paced the length of the room. Then I caught sight of a glimmering paper on the table—a note from my mother, pulsating with an aura that seemed to call to me. It was my Grandma Millie's address in Seacrest.
Taking the note, I slipped through the back door, leaving everything behind—no packed bags, no note. Nothing. A small voice whispered inside me that I shouldn't go. But I continued through the back door and then I felt her—the wolf within me.
An instinctual howl escaped my lips, low and broken, reverberating through the air.
"Evelyn!" my mother's voice cut through my thoughts. Her voice seeming out of breath. "Are you okay? Did someone find you?" She sounded shaken, almost lost. "I felt your wolf!"
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm leaving. I can't carry this weight. I can't be the cause of more pain." My voice quaked with uncertainty yet rang with fierce resolve.
"Eevee, please wait! "I will come with—" She was cut off, and an unbearable pain shot through my chest, dropping me to the ground. It felt as though my heart had been torn from me.
"Evelyn," Kai's voice intruded, urgent and fraught with sorrow. "I'm so sorry. I just got word from my father... A rogue… it attacked your mother. They tore her throat."
"No! Is that what I feel?" I gasped.
"Yes. It's the bond. You've never lost a wolf family member before; it can be excruciating. I'll come to help you through this. Where are you?" Kai requests.
Forgetting my plan to escape, I pused through the pain and forced myself to my feet and bolted towards the bridge, I just have to get passed the river to cross the pack boarder line, my thoughts tangled in anguish. I could not cross; no doubt the border at the bridge was thrumming with warriors.
"Eevee, where are you?" Kane's voice, echoing with worry. I paused; he hasn't called me that for years.
"Please, tell us! We can help! The Alpha, my father demands we stay with you!" Kai pressed.
"I can't," I cried, desperation surging. "I'm leaving the pack."
"What? You can't do that!" Kai's voice was filled with pain.
"Eevee, where are you?" Kane repeats. Anger and what feels like concern seeping through the mind-link.
I can't tell anyone where I am going. I won't be safe. They won't be safe. No, I can't tell them.
"Evelyn Moon, you WILL tell us where you are." Kane shouts. We are your alphas, you will stay where you are, and we will come to you."
"You are not my alphas. Not now, not ever!"
"This is goodbye." With that, I severed the link, blocking their frantic attempts to reach me.
Ahead lay a secret place my father had shown me, where the river was shallow and hidden from sight. I rushed over the hill, unaware I was running, till I stumbled into the clearing where the forest met the river. Here, the world felt different—alive yet sorrowful. I take a minute to relive when my father and I would walk here when I was upset. I would miss this place the most, visiting it anytime I wanted to feel close to my father. I would miss everything about my life, my friends, my home, even Kai and Kane.
Then I heard it: the snapping of twigs behind me.
"Marcus?" Panic coursed through me. "Please don't tell anyone I am here."
Marcus just stares at me for a second. Caught off guard by my presence. He walks up to me.
"Evelyn, sorry. My mother told me to run, that the rogues were closing in on the town," he replied, fear clouding his eyes. "She told me they are here for you. But If I see you, I should do everything in my power to protect you. She said you are something special."
"You don't have to protect me anymore, Marcus. I'm leaving this pack and never looking back," I shared, my heart heavy with the truth.
"Where will you go? The pack can protect you," he pleaded, desperation lacing his words. "I can't let you just leave on your own!"
"I can't stay. If I do, this darkness will consume us all. What happens when other packs find out? I have to leave," I insisted, pushing gently past him toward the water.
"Evelyn, if you step onto those grounds with a heart intent to leave the pack, you sever all ties! Your mother, your friends—me!" he cried.
"She's dead, Marcus. My mothers dead," I whispered, my cheeks wet with tears.
Breaking away, I crossed the river's edge, pausing to look back at the shocked expression on his face. Marcus had always been a friend, one I could rely on, yet now I felt a chasm opening beneath me.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward into the unknown.
With each stride, I felt the twins' presence fade, their desperate attempts to break down the wall growing silent. In that moment, I existed in a void, with nothing to feel except the tension of release.
I was numb.